Lana's Path: The Path Taken
by Chunk127
Summary: Post-Series: Lana is faced with a life altering decision when Superman dies.


I don't own Smallville

* * *

Lana stood at the foot oh her dresser collecting clothes for the sad event she can't believe it. There are moments in your life that define you and make you who you are. She knows that more then most at the age of thirty two. The meteor shower, finding out the truth about her 'son' and realizing the kind of man Lex was. There are good moments like finding out about Clark after six years and then there are bad ones. Ones that eat at you and pick at you until you're raw. Right now she is living one of the worst looking at the newspaper from two days ago.

"Superman is dead"

Lana refused to believe it at first. She couldn't believe it not Clark there was no power of evil on earth that could take him down. Not Grundy, not Intergang, not even the great Lex Luthor. Sadly Lana forgot about what they buried under the earth. She still can't believe Doomsday was able to kill him. He fought it before at twenty two and walked away just fine and she highly doubts Diana would let him get flabby in hand to hand. But all she has to do is turn on the TV or look in the newspaper and she'll see. Star Reporter of the Daily Planet Lois Lane-Kent an inconsolable mess cradling Superman's corpse in her arms.

Lana got dressed and she's happy Lois was there for Clark when Lex made sure she no longer could be. She guesses her and Clark are just not meant to be. Maybe not in this time but she can do it she can save Clark she knows exactly how to. Well if that's not an idea she doesn't know what is.

* * *

Lana walked up somberly to the Kent Farm and knocked on the door. When it opened she saw a little boy who quickly got weak and fell to the floor. Lana opened the door and ran in but quickly saw it hurt the boy even more and realized he was kryptonian and backed out the door. "Can you get Martha Kent?"

The boy nodded as he got up and disappeared in a blur.

Martha came out her hair was turning gray from a long life and the stress of Washington considering who's running it. She smiled a little and opened the door and hugged Lana who just as quickly hugged her back.

"I would have come back sooner but I was in Paris. I didn't know." Lana lied but rolled her eyes. "No… I did know I just couldn't come here because I spent the last three days crying."

Martha just held her tighter she's thankful she came. "You're here now it's all that matters."

Lana broke free. "So how's Lois holding up think she can stand to talk to me?"

"I think she can talk to you." Martha replied. "I think she'd want to too."

* * *

Lana headed up stairs to Clark's old room and saw Lois crying her eyes out into his old high school jersey. "This is a bad time I can come back."

"This is normal now." Lois replied. "Small…Clark is gone I'm going to have to get use to it at some point."

Lana nodded and took a seat next to her on the bed. "So I saw the little boy and he got sick when he came I thought you and Clark couldn't."

Lois smiled realizing she still has one kryptonian man in her life that she loves. "Oh we didn't we kind of adopted Chris. He was Zod's but after we stabilized the phantom zone we adopted him. It pays having two billionaires on three and four on your speed dial."

"Who's number one and two?" Lana asked out of curiosity.

"Chloe and Martha" Lois answered.

Lana nodded. "So is there anything you want to talk about or need help with?"

Lois shakes her head no. "Just you being here is enough maybe you can tell me how the hell you're keeping this calm through all this."

"What do you mean?" Lana asked.

Lois looked at her and started to explain she never though in a million years thought shed be friends with Lana. "You and I don't have all that much in common princess. Except for one thing. We both know what it meant to truly be loved by Clark."

Lana nodded and felt a tear running down her cheek. "I loved Clark... but Clark loved you more."

Lois got out of bed and got her dress for the funeral. "Oh come on Lana we both know I was his silver medal thanks to Lex."

Lana stood up she always imagined she would keep this to herself but not anymore, not today. "Clark made a choice Lois. He chose you."

"The only reason Clark opened his eyes to me was that you became walking kryptonite and we both know it. He left a dust trail for me as soon as you came back at Chloe's wedding." Lois answered.

Lana got to her feet. "I think I knew senior year but didn't want to admit it but Clark, he made his choice five years ago."

Lois thought back and remembered five years ago. It was the worst fight they ever had. Clark made an argument that Lois didn't love him she just loved the idea of Superman. It got so bad Lois threw him out for a month before Chloe and Oliver started playing peacekeeper and Lois had to admit she does love Superman but she loves and wanted to marry homegrown farmboy Clark Kent which was why she now she joined him in glasses as a show of support. "What happened?"

Lana ran down what happened. "Emil made a breakthrough with the suit figuring he could mutate it with the DNA of a certain bug that I no longer remember. I'd keep some of the speed and strength and most of the suit would go inert including the kryptonite. I talked to Clark about it before I became an insect queen I asked if we had a chance."

Lois frowned mainly because Clark never told her this. "What did Smallville say?"

"He said he loves me that a part of him always will. But his love for me is nothing compared to the love he has for you and he was right we loved each other but there was always lies and secrets even after the kryptonian bomb." Lana admitted.

Lois got up and hugged her thankful to hear that even if it was only for a short while Clark Kent loved every single trace of her. "Thank you"

Lana saw Lois out and quickly went to work rampaging the room looking for what she came for Clark can be saved if she finds it. She goes through keepsake after keepsake and finds her white necklace that must have been left here. Lana doesn't say a word and just drapes it over her neck.

"I think you're looking for this right?"

Lana turned around and saw Lois holding Kara's Legion ring. She guesses Kara knew Clark was going to die and came back to take over where he left off. "Yes"

"I'm not trying to sound offended but don't you think I've thought this through." Lois replied of course this idea came to her head.

Lana got up from her spot and looked at her. "Clark went back in time to save me once before I owe him."

Lois looked at her. She knows what going back in time also does and she won't do it because Clark wouldn't want that. "I'm not going say a word. I'm not even going to stop you because Owlman showed us every time we make a decision all we do is make a new world. But Clark wouldn't want this you know the price of resurrection."

Lois put the legion ring on her bureau and left it to her.

Lana got up and took the ring looking over the gold L ring she can use it turn back time to even earlier get Clark on the right track and fix everything. Or she can stay here in a world where Clark is dead but she knows he went out the way he chose to and respect his decision.

Lana thinks it over and makes her decision.

* * *

Lana puts on the ring and disappears in a flash of pink light and finds herself in a baby blue shirt and smiles in relief she's back. She also sees Clark at her feet. "So man or Superman." She asked seeing where she's at.

Clark shrugged on his knees. "I haven't really figured that part out yet."

Lana looked at him. "Clark you're not joining the football team right."

Clark shakes his head not that he doesn't want to but he has to play normal. "No I don't think it's for me."

"Good, can you meet me at your barn after school?" Lana asked kindly knowing Clark at this point he's pretty much a lovesick puppy she was oblivious too her whole life no lies this time.

"I-I-I'd love to." Clark responded not believing this. "But what about Whitney?"

Lana shakes her head. "I'm ending it. I'm not a cheerleader three generation is enough just meet me at the farm OK."

Clark just nods as Lana walks away.

* * *

Lana stood at the bridge sorting out what to tell Clark and what not to tell him when she gets there. She's pulled out of her thoughts hearing tire pop as old instincts takes over Lana steps to where Lex's Porsche would hit and quickly remembers she's not wearing the suit anymore. "Aw Fu…" She tries to move out of the way but Lex hits her and both are sent into the river.

* * *

Ten years later Clark lays out flowers on Lana's grave… well new grave with another girl with brown hair. Clark never would have believed he would have lived this life in a million years. But after what happened to Lana he was tore apart. Even more showing how little Lana's 'friends' actually cared for her. Only one person showed up at her grave outside of Neil regularly and they started talking to each other. It all changed one time when Clark actually saw Lana standing over her own grave to his surprise she shape shifted back into Tina and then Clark shared his own secret well mostly it took a red ruby on him to drop the Alien bomb to her. Tina actually called Clark her guardian angel as she would have been dead a long time ago without the meteor rock, with that the two decided to date.

Clark watched Tina lay flowers out on her grave and was thankful for the shape shifter because Lana's death unleashed the gates of hell on Smallville and he wouldn't have made it without her. Greg Arkin whom he hadn't talked to since grade school snapped and broke Whitney's neck like a toothpick it took a SWAT team to detain him enough for Belle Reeve apparently.

Then they found out the other person was Lex Luthor and Lionel utterly snapped. He burned all bridges to Smallville closing the plant which was a domino effect on the rest of the town as it withered and died. Chloe moved back north with her dad. Pete's family was out on the street. And even with Clark's abilities there was nothing left that could save the barn. The one thing he had going for him was Tina.

The two bonded getting closer it helped Tina to have someone to talk to who accepts her powers as is since while her mother loves her it always freaked her out. Eventually the farm did so bad the bank finally had the right to foreclose. Tina was nervous about losing Clark but when her mother revealed she was going to Gotham along with the Kents she couldn't be more thrilled.

The two dated all throughout their time in Gotham high until Clark's ship started talking to him. Tina knew she didn't want to leave Clark but she didn't want him to regret not learning where he came from first so with a heavy heart she let him go. After all her meteor power was superhuman strength. Even in a toilet like Gotham thieves weren't that stupid to cross her.

Clark arranged it so he wouldn't leave until after high school and the ship agreed it also taught him how to control his strength so he can have one night with Tina. And that was the last nail in the coffin for Smallville as someone took it off the face of the earth forever with a nuclear missile because of a second meteor shower a week earlier bringing a new nightmare to the planet.

* * *

Clark came back to a rather shocking surprise seeing Tina with a six month bump on her stomach. Since Tina shape shifts it ends up she can change her body enough to support a kryptonian human pregnancy. Clark defeated the disciples of Zod and ran a kryptonian virus through their ship but not before thousands were lost in their pursuit of Kal El with the world finding out about the horror of Kryptonians from them. The truth about Clark could never come out. For Clark's sake and their baby a little girl named Lana.

Clark took a job at Wayne enterprises and during the night he dresses in black and joins Batman in keeping Gotham safe.

Tina looked at her husband and don't get her wrong she's happy. She just wishes things could have played out differently. He could have been so much more.

* * *

Author's Notes

This was originally an April fools joke ending at the bridge scene. Then I actually kind of liked Lana from the beginning and wrote another ending where she doesn't use the ring. Now I'm actually thinking of a Clark/Tina fic where Clark was too late to stop Jeremy in the pilot.

I slightly touched upon this with Oliver wondering how Tess beat up the pirates in death is only the beginning but I wanted to put it as a bad thing since the time traveler would be used to them at the future instead of the past. This whole idea started as a Firefly fic with Jayne learning the events of Firefly to save Book and Wash but had the April fool is that he accidentally sent him to himself at the end of Ariel and since he was learning the future he didn't see Mal shoot him out the airlock.

I believe the butterfly effect. While changes are good sometimes they can also make things turn to hell.


End file.
